The hefty sum paid for rhino horn — about $65,000 a kilo — has attracted international organized crime groups that are usually involved in the trafficking of drugs, arms and humans.

There are currently around 25,000 rhinos in Africa (low in relation to historical numbers) and they face extinction if poaching continues at current rates. The Independent writes that it would be the first major extinction of an animal in the wild since the worldwide conservation movement began.

Wildlife specialists expect the surge in poaching to continue as long as demand remains strong in the Far East.